Fing(er)s ain't what they used to be

[steve mac]

I like to think that Mrs Mac didn't raise no fool, however, I do have flashes of idiocy. The season here is getting into full swing, new venues to impress and last week I decided to learn a couple of new tunes. ( for those who are sad enough to be interested in such things, The Timewarp and Something ).

With a free day, I then spent about six hours going over and over the new tunes. Now Timewarp is constant full bar chords and Something is prebend on what seems every note. Happy with how it went, I decided to try them out the next day.

Fast forward and the following day my index finger was in agony forcing me to cancel a gig for the first time ever.

A week of rest, applying heat and cold combat no with gental stretches, decided to pick up a guitar and hell fire it's still as painful. Frustration is an understatement.

As we say in Liverpool, I feel a right divvy.

[pogo97]

The index finger of your left hand? From playing barre chords?

 

I have a solution.

[daddymack]

how did I know ^ was coming?

 

Steve, a lot of ice, ibuprophen and slide...yes...slide!

 

I dislocated the forefinger on my left hand scaling a hillside in Arizona to see some cave dwellings* back in December 2001. The day after I returned from my trip, I had a band gig. Wound up playing slide and lap steel and such...for weeks afterwards. Still can't hit a proper C major chord easily.

 

I would have had to cancel any solo gigs, but I didn't have any at the time.

 

 

 

*these dwelling are not open to the public, and require a special permit [not easy to get without the right credentials] and an escort by a Park Service Interpretive Ranger; so even with the injury, I continued up the hill...it was worth the pain to see something only a handful of people have seen, in almost pristine condition. I have a longtime interest in Native American and Meso-American anthropology and archaeology.

[ski219]

Option 1: play an electric guitar.

Option 2: you can play TIme Warp, especially as a solo acoustic guitarist, with mostly open chords.

[Shaster]

Six hours! That's a lot of ouch! When I was a kid I used to practice a lot, but by my late twenty's I basically stopped unless it was to go over a chart. Sure if I've got a big gig or recording session I might warm up for a half an hour but otherwise I'm playing enough to keep in shape, and for the times I'm not gigging much, I limit practice to an hour or so. Our appendages are everything, and we need to take care of them.

 

Mildly funny thing (maybe), I did a gig with a piano playing friend. After the gig, his wife was commenting on how much he practiced certain pieces, and how it drove her crazy. My wife looked at her, and had nothing to say, because unless I'm writing a really tough and well paying gig, I don't go over and over things. To paraphrase the old video stores, be kind and don't rewind!

 

Now just FYI here's a tune I wore out as a "kid" but it didn't do any damage. Listening today it's a bit excessive (to say the least), but I sure had fun trying to master it. Never did play it live though.

 

Just remebered another finger buster I actually played live. You wouldn't believe the looks on the fisherman and loggers up in Northern BC when we launched into this tune. Odd time signatures, whole tone scales... Pure disbelief, and not in a good way! [video=youtube;x2S6Kjqi5vk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2S6Kjqi5vk

 

Wishing you a full and speedy recovery Steve.

[steve mac]

Good comment, however I do play electric guitar albeit with 12s so may have to revisit that and open chord Timewarp?

[daddymack]

even playing cowboy chords, Time Warp has some forefinger force chords, like F and C...